February 05, 2012

A successful event

Yesterday's teach-in was a huge success. Our in-person attendance was approximately 170 people. We had 172 virtual viewers who streamed us live.

Yesterday showed us the power of possibility. We were inspired by not only the sheer numbers of people reached, but the engagement and excitement of everyone involved.

We had social media gurus keeping up with the event online. If you are on Twitter, find #teachthinkdo and add your thoughts. On Facebook, we kept a running discussion of the insightful comments provided by our virtual guests.

Here is what you can expect from us in the coming weeks:
  • Within a week, we will post online the recording of the entire teach-in, including a transcript. We'd appreciate your support in sharing this video and
    transcript, so we can continue to spread our message of solidarity. Thanks to our tech guru, Tim Merritt.
  • We'll also post a photo album of the event online. Thanks to our photographers, Claire Miller and Brian Williams.
  • We collected testimonials from many participants yesterday. We are compiling their commentary into a digital story and will post that online. Thanks to our videographers, Kara Kavanagh, Marquita Jackson-Minot, and Morgan Faison.
  • We collected letters during the letter writing breakout session. We'll mail those letters to legislators, school administrators, and other stakeholders in Georgia, Arizona, and around the country.
  • We shared curriculum resources and dialogued about censored books. We'll share those resources online with you, so you can use them in your classrooms and schools.
  • We are also in the process of planning future events. We'd love to hear from you--what should we do next? And after that? And after that?

As Jose, a teacher in Tucson and one of our guest speakers, said yesterday, "Teaching is political. You either stand with the State or you stand with your students." In this effort and and other efforts to challenge programs and politics that oppress youth and families and silence the valuable voices of our children,
WE STAND WITH STUDENTS.

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